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Nongalaza
Nongalaza KaNondela (c.1805 - after 1856) was a Zulu warrior who was the principal military commander of King Mpande of the Zulu kingdom. When Mpande was chieftain of the Nyandwini clan, Nongalaza commanded his forces against the invasion by Robert Biggar and rebel Zulus, successfully destroying them at the Tugela River in 1838.Labland, John, ''Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars'', Scarecrow Press, 2009, p.201 In 1840, Mpande allied with the Boers and moved against his brother Dingane in a bid for the Zulu throne. Nongalaza led Mpande's main army, while Mpande took a separate route towards Dingane with a force of Boers under Andries Pretorius. Nongalaza encountered Dingane's army before the Boers arrived, and decided to attack immediately. At the Battle of Maqongqo Nongalaza crushed Dingane, and when Mpande arrived he was installed as king. Under Mpande's rule, Nongalaza continued to enjoy the king's support, and was enriched with land and cattle. The trader and hunter William ...
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Battle Of Ndondakusuka
The Battle of Ndondakusuka (2 December 1856) was the culmination of a succession struggle in the Zulu Kingdom between Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi, the two eldest sons of the king Mpande, often known as the Second Zulu Civil War. Mbuyazi was defeated at the battle and was killed, leaving Cetshwayo in ''de facto'' control of the kingdom, though his father remained king. Mbuyazi's followers were massacred in the aftermath of the battle, including five other sons of King Mpande. Background Inheritance and succession in Zulu society followed complex rules, but stated simply, the first-born son of a chief's "great wife" was the presumptive heir, although identification of "great wife" was often delayed until a chief neared his end. With respect to the Zulu king, succession had been murky ever since 1816 when Shaka had supplanted his half-brother and presumptive heir Sigujana. Cetshwayo was the eldest son of the King Mpande kaSenzangakhona. Many of the ''izikhulu'' supported Cetshwayo, but M ...
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Battle Of Maqongqo
The Battle of Maqongqo was fought on 29 January 1840 during the First Zulu Civil War. Due to military defeats, the Zulu king Dingane had lost the respect of a significant portion of the Zulu people. His brother Mpande sought to separate his followers from Dingane and drew support from an alliance with Boer settlers led by Andries Pretorius. Dingane agitated for Zulu unity, and Mpande attacked Dingane's compound resulting in the battle of 29 January 1840. Mpande and his supporters were victorious. Shortly thereafter Dingane was murdered and Mpande became king of the Zulus. Background The Boer settlers under Pretorius had inflicted a crushing defeat on Dingane in 1838 at the Battle of Blood River, allowing them to carve out territory and create the Natalia Republic. As a result, the king's authority had been severely weakened. His attempt to reassert his leadership by expanding his territory to the north led to another defeat at the hands of the Swazi in 1839. In 1839, fearing th ...
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Mpande
Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840. His reign was relatively lengthy at 32 years, but for the latter part of his reign, he was king in name only. His son Cetshwayo became ''de facto'' ruler in 1856. Mpande himself claimed that he preferred a quiet life and that he had been forced to become king. Biography Early career Mpande was born in Babanango, Zululand, the son of Senzangakhona kaJama (1762–1816) and his ninth wife Songiya kaNgotsha Hlabisa. He was considered a weak man in comparison to his contemporaries. While other half-brothers were eliminated when his brother Dingane assassinated Shaka to become king in 1828, he was allowed to live. Mpande apparently showed no interest in Zulu power politics. Mpande came to prominence when Dingane suffered a catastrophic disast ...
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Biggar Family
The Biggar family, Alexander Harvey Biggar (29 October 1781 – 27 December 1838) and his two sons Robert (12 September 1813 – 17 April 1838) and George (20 February 1820 – 17 February 1838), were pioneer traders at Port Natal, in what was to become the Colony of Natal. Subsequent to the massacre of Retief's delegation, they became involved in the exchange of attacks between Zulus and settlers. Although contributing to the overthrow of Dingane, all three lost their lives in the conflicts of 1838. Alexander's grandson John Dunn became a well-known Natal pioneer in his own right. Early life Alexander was born in Kinsale, Ireland in 1781, to parents (Major) Harold Robert Biggar and Ann, née Harvey. On 3 March 1799, he married Mary Straton (1781–1855) in Brechin, Scotland. Alexander first worked as paymaster for the 85th regiment, before fighting in the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–1815, and the War of 1812 in North America. His highest rank was Captain, but he was found guilty ...
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Tugela River
The Tugela River ( zu, Thukela; af, Tugelarivier) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Drakensberg Mountains at an elevation of almost 11,000 feet This has a very detailed description of the river's course. and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls. The Mont-aux-Sources is also the origin of tributaries of two other major South African rivers, the Orange River, Orange and the Vaal River, Vaal. From the Drakensberg range, the Tugela follows a route through the KwaZulu-Natal midlands before flowing into the Indian Ocean. The total catchment area is approximately . Land uses in the catchment are mainly rural subsistence farming and commercial forestry. Tributaries The Tugela has a number of tributaries coming off the Drakensberg, the largest being the Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal), Mzinyathi ("Buffalo") River (rising near Maj ...
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Dingane
Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu (–29 January 1840), commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan, was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his brother Shaka. He set up his royal capital, uMgungundlovu, and one of numerous military encampments, or kraals, in the Emakhosini Valley just south of the White Umfolozi River, on the slope of Lion Hill (''Singonyama''). Rise to power Dingane came to power in 1828 after assassinating his half-brother Shaka with the help of another brother, Umhlangana, as well as Mbopa, Shaka's bodyguard. They were traditionally said to have killed Shaka because of his increasingly brutal behaviour after the death of his mother, Nandi. The assassination took place at present-day Stanger. Governance and reverence Captain Gardiner related that Dingane was revered as the "great idol" of the Zulu nation, while Reverend Francis Owen, who observed his rule at close quarters while stationed at Umgungundhlovu, highligh ...
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Andries Pretorius
Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa. The large city of Pretoria, executive capital of South Africa, is named after him. Early life and background Pretorius was educated at home and although a school education wasn't a priority on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony, he was literate enough to read the Bible and write his thoughts down on paper. Pretorius had five children, the eldest of whom, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, later became the first President of the South African Republic (Transvaal). Pretorius descended from the line of the earliest Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony. He belonged to the fifth generation of the progenitor, Johannes Pretorius son of Reverend Wessel Schulte of the Netherlands. Schulte in his time as a theology student at the University of Leide ...
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Cetshwayo
King Cetshwayo kaMpande (; ; 1826 – 8 February 1884) was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1879 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo. Cetshwayo consistently opposed the war and sought fruitlessly to make peace with the British, and was defeated and exiled following the Zulu defeat in the war. He was later allowed to return to Zululand, where he died in 1884. Early life Cetshwayo was a son of Zulu king Mpande and Queen Ngqumbazi, half-nephew of Zulu king Shaka and grandson of Senzangakhona. In 1856 he defeated and killed in battle his younger brother Mbuyazi, Mpande's favourite, at the Battle of Ndondakusuka. Almost all Mbuyazi's followers were massacred in the aftermath of the battle, including five of Cetshwayo's own brothers. Following this he became the ruler of the Zulu people in everything but name. He did not ascend to the throne, however, as his father was ...
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History Of KwaZulu-Natal
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is not complete and still has debatable mysteries. History is also an academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect. Historians often debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians also debate the nature of history as an end in itself, as well as its usefulness to give perspective on the problems of the p ...
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Zulu People
Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They originated from Nguni communities who took part in the Bantu migrations over millennia. As the clans integrated together, the rulership of Shaka brought success to the Zulu nation due to his improved military tactics and organization. Zulus take pride in their ceremonies such as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and their various forms of beadwork. The art and skill of beadwork takes part in the identification of Zulu people and acts as a form of communication and dedication to the tribe and specific traditions. The men and women both serve different purposes in society in order to function as a whole. Today the Zulu people predominantly believe in Christianity, but have created a syncretic religion that is combined with the Zulu's pr ...
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